X's Christmas
by Emerald Mami
Summary: A.k.a.Zero's Clarienet... A story of Christmas with Chaos... *wink*


Time for Emerald Mami to shape up here. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Zero, X, or Dr. Cain, or anybody else. They belong to…(drumroll, please), Capcom!

President of Capcom: Thank you, thank you.

Ehem, anyway, I do own Chaos and Havoc. If you want to use them, you can contact me at elisabeth.af@prodigy.net. Also, Mami of the Mind is mine. Computo cat. And those two chocolate bars by your computer…

Christmas was approching the Maverick Hunters, and therefore the base was filled with many Christmas things. 

In the lobby, there was a 18-foot Christmas tree with ordaments from Chaos. Each glowed and freaked people out, being a mixture between Halloween and Santa Clause.

In Cain's office, Haunaka things were stuffed, and candles were lighted. (unkown to Cain, Chaos was keeping them lighted, but stopped when Cain claimed that he had a miracle).

X had gifts in his room, under his bed, and Zero did too. Chaos, however, had her gifts in a pocket dimension and was wrapping one when Zero came in her room.

"Chaos?" Zero saw no one, and turned to leave.

"Oh, be quiet. These things aren't easy to pack." Chaos's head apeared to be upsidedown and floating. 

"What things?" Zero asked, hopeful and gagged at the same time.

"Your freaking presents. It's bad enough trying to get one for Forte, now _you_… Man, I hope you like it."

"What is it?"

Chaos did a backflip and landed, full body in sight, in front of Zero, and began to push him out the door. "Tomorrow shall be an opening day…" she sang.

"Oh, come on, Chaos, don't be a poor sport. You know what yours is."

"I hope you gave me those Bass Clarinet reeds I asked for. You're going to," she coughed, "love yours. OUT!!!!"

X awakened to find Chaos staring down over his face, causing a panic button somewhere deep in his programing.

"CHAOS!"

Chaos laughed. "Merry Christmas, X!" She threw the present at X's face. It hit his nose.

"GET OUT!"

Chaos grinned a sly grin. "Why?"

X blushed. _Man, _he thought, _I am never sleeping without clothes again._

"That's for sure." Chaos disapeared, leaving a highly embarassed X.

Zero awoke when something was thrown at his face. He groaned. "Good morning, Chaos."

"That was not your big present. It's a smaller one. They're both needed. Meet me in the lobby!" Chaos dissapeared, probably giving good cheer to her Maverick sister. (And like a hypocrite, Havoc was probably giving it back).

X and Zero meet up in the lodge, after dressing. No uniforms, just average joe clothes. "Chaos said she'd be here…" X commented. 

"Yeah, well, Chaos gave me a pack of Clarinet reeds." Zero pulled them out of a pocket. "What am I gonna use those for? Trading?"

X laughed. "She gave me a pack of yarn."

Chaos appeared, behind them, causing them both to jump. "Sigma sends his greetings. Love and peace to all."

The two Reploids shot Chaos a dirty look.

"Okay, he wants you to die a slow and painful death in some sort of deep but shallow pit that you can never get out of, even though it looks easy." Chaos shrugged. "I like my way better."

"So do I," X agreed. 

Chaos waved a hand, and two ordaments came flying off the tree. "Only the angel at the top ain't enchanted by me. Sit."

Zero and X sat, hoping Chaos wasn't going to lose her temper. 

"We exchange gifts now. X, I got you a book on how to knit! And kniting needles!" Chaos handed X his present with a smile on her face.

"Yippee," X muttered darkly. He gave Chaos her present. "It's a cat puzzle. You told me how your mother and you would work on puzzles together."

Chaos had not included that "puzzle time" was not of her own free will. "Thank you, X," she lied. 

"And for Zero," X said, giving Zero a wrapped present, "I got you a beam saber energizer and polish." X looked down embarassed. 

Chaos telepathically talked to X.Whose money did we use to get that? she asked.

Yours, X agreed. But let's not tell Zero that.

Agreed. But, I would like to see when Zero loses his temper at me- I've never fought a good fight with him before.

Zero pulled out a lamely wrapped lumpy present.

X opened it. It was a piece of wood, not plainly resembling anything. X was speechless, and not from awe, let me tell you. 

Chaos swapped dimensions so she could laugh properly, and came back two seconds later, totally serious. In the world she had visited, however, weeks had gone by. 

Zero figited with his fingers. "I was trying to cut a piece of word with my Beamsaber," he explained. "And it looked like a star, kinda."

Chaos added silently, "an eighteen pointed star."

X's eyes grew blurry. "Thanks, Zero." X began to hug Zero, but stopped when the enitre lobby looked at the two commanders. "Sorry."

"You had better be."

Chaos looked at the two. "My turn!" She exclaimed. "You first!"

Zero handed Chaos another parically-wrapped and lump package. Chaos opened it, revealing a large piece of paper. "END OF THE WORLD!!! BEWARE!!!" it said, with pictures of blood and dead people.

"It's something that I drew out of boredom," Zero explained. Chaos's face went bland a bit. _And depression. Has he seen a shrink?_

Chaos handed Zero a case. "It's a Clarinet!"

Zero opened up the forgien instrument. "A… Clarinet."

"Yup!"

Zero closed the clase, thanked Chaos, and walked away. When he got to his room, he shoved it as far as he could under his bed.

Mami knocked on his door. "Chaos says to get ready for your first lesson. And a P.S. : It's going to be hell."

"Chaos, has it occured to you that I maybe _don't _want to play a Clarinet?"

Chaos stopped wetting her reed, and insterted it between a freaky metal thing and the mouthpiece. "Yes," she said, finally. "Wet your reed."

Zero did, took five seconds, and then put it where Chaos had. "You play the Bass Clarinet, though," he winned. 

"Not much different. Just in size."

"Oh." Zero tried to play. He got no sound.

Chaos zipped up and down a scale. "Very well. You can't just put it in you're mouth. You've got to tighten up you amboucher."

Zero stared blankly. "My what?"

"You're mouth, stupid."

Zero did as he was told. A loud squeaking sound could be heard from all corners of the globe."

"Not bad," Chaos lied. "Not that tight."

Zero finally produced a note. The note was ¼ squeak, ¼ the acutual note, and haf of it were several different notes, all at the same time. Chaos learned something that day.

"Couldn't you have bought me one that doesn't squeak?"

Chaos took on a saddened expression. "I put charms and spells so it wouldn't."

Zero took this in, producing his answer. "This sucks."

Chaos grinned. "I'll fight you one on one."

"Okay!" Zero's face brightened."

"…after you learn."

"Damn. This is gonna be the longest vacation of my life."

Zero had acomplished in one day: 

1. The metal thing is a ligature. They break easily.

2. Chaos has a temper. Especially when squeaking so bad hell would have you kicked out.

3. Reeds break easily. So do mouthpieces.

4. Clarinets can fall apart. Don't swing them around.

Zero also figured that his cool rating was going to drop. Chaos invited him to come to a concert after hearing another hissy-fit. 

"Why?"

"Don't ask stupid questions," Chaos replied.

So here Zero was, sitting in the back row, and listening to a Clarinet section. The band preformed well, and the soloists weren't bad. Chaos had a different seat. Cheater, he thought. 

"Now, please welcome, Miss Chaos!"

Chaos bowed onstage. Zero stared blankly. No fair! She was going to play… a big, heavy, and wicked looking instrument. "The Bass Clarinet" rang through his mind. 

The music was impressive. High note here, many-a-low note there. When it was over, he clapped along with everybody else. Something was different about Chaos. When she appeared again, he asked her about it.

"I was preforming without magic. I love music, and this is talent learned a long time ago."

"Oh." Zero made up his mind then and there to learn the clarinet.

The months passed, and soon, MHB was no longer being tortured by squeaks and squaks. Instead, their ears were listening to blissful music.

Chaos grinned to X. "I want my money back. The bet's over. I won."

"That is not fair. I can't get a job."

"X… Want to learn how to knit?" 

X ran, yelling "No!" But it didn't matter. A moment later he was surrounded by old ladies. "Darling, don't worry," one said. "Knitting is fun!"


End file.
